Served as a foreign agent in Nairobi, Paris, and Moscow. The Russians deported him and his family in 1994.

Upon Tony Blair's request, Scarlett (then chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee) toughened up the 45-minute claim in the Iraq WMD dossier. The proposed text had been: "The Iraqi military may be able to deploy chemical or biological weapons within 45 minutes." After Scarlett's rewrite, the final draft said: "The Iraqi military are able to deploy these weapons within 45 minutes of a decision to do so."

When later asked to justify this language, Scarlett told the Hutton Inquiry: "This was a report from a single source. It was an established and reliable line of reporting. It was quoted from a senior Iraqi military officer in a position to know this information."